Page 41 - McDowell Family Hanbook

BULLYING AND OTHER FORMS OF AGGRESSIVE BEHAVIOR (5517.01)
The Board of Education is committed to providing a safe, positive, productive,
and nurturing educational environment for all of its students. The Board
encourages the promotion of positive interpersonal relations between members
of the school community.

Harassment, intimidation, or bullying toward a student, whether by other
students, staff, or third parties is strictly prohibited and will not be tolerated.
This prohibition includes aggressive behavior, physical, verbal, and
psychological abuse, and violence within a dating relationship. The Board will
not tolerate any gestures, comments, threats, or actions which cause or
threaten to cause bodily harm or personal degradation. This policy applies to
all activities in the District, including activities on school property, on a school
bus, or while enroute to or from school, and those occurring off school property
if the student or employee is at any school-sponsored, school-approved or
school-related activity or function, such as field trips or athletic events where
students are under the school's control, in a school vehicle, or where an
employee is engaged in school business.

This policy has been developed in consultation with parents, District employees,
volunteers, students, and community members as prescribed in R.C. 3313.666
and the State Board of Education's Model Policy.

Harassment, intimidation, or bullying means:

A. any intentional written, verbal, electronic, or physical act that a
student or group of students exhibits toward another particular
student(s) more than once and the behavior both causes mental
or physical harm to the other student(s) and is sufficiently
severe, persistent, or pervasive that it creates an intimidating,
threatening, or abusive educational environment for the other
student(s); or

B. violence within a dating relationship.

"Electronic act" means an act committed through the use of a cellular
telephone, computer, pager, personal communication device, or other electronic
communication device.

Aggressive behavior is defined as inappropriate conduct that is repeated
enough, or serious enough, to negatively impact a student's educational,
physical, or emotional well being. This type of behavior is a form of intimidation
and harassment, although it need not be based on any of the legally protected
characteristics, such as sex, race, color, national origin, marital status, or
disability. It would include, but not be limited to, such behaviors as stalking,
bullying/cyberbullying, intimidating, menacing, coercion, name-calling,
taunting, making threats, and hazing.

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